Say this one fast: Tephrocactus articulatus papyracanthus. I ran an errand and thought I might peep in on some more "flowery" succulents (i.e. a big Echeveria type) that don't need the afternoon sun to thrive. The boutique plants find me. Like, really. I typed ānurseriesā into Maps to figure out my new neighborhood, and the plant spirits guided me haha. I hadnāt seen this species at Home Depot (Iām not there every morning, but I regularly check in), and it was shoved way under the shelf. It could use some light and nutrients, and it needs to work on growing another neck. Note that this guy is three times the size of the other specimen in my collection. When deciding which of the 50 versions of āwell draining soilā to use on succulents, I usually glance over where it lives (Western Argentina in this case). āIt is easy to grow but usually couldnāt get very tall as segment kept falling apartā and āis very easy to grow by just knocking off one of the 'cones' and stuffing it in the groundā sounds like a no-brainer. Looking at the underground root system (this is a mature plant), Iām safe in assuming it prefers to get busy above ground š (I used a mix of yellow bag soil, pumice and clay balls. Nothing complicated.) This species is one of my favorites because it always looks frozen in a chaotic moment.
